Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Pocatello, ID MSA — October 2026
Pocatello's labor market treads water as nuclear jobs offset food-plant losses.
Pocatello MSA employment fell 1.0% year-over-year even as Premier Technology's nuclear-manufacturing expansion added jobs and South-Central Idaho wages dropped from $30.46 to $22.95 an hour.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Pocatello MSA employment, YoY: -1.0% — vs 0.2% MoM gain in September
- Bannock County unemployment: 3.8% — vs 3.6% Idaho, 4.1% U.S.
- South-Central Idaho avg. wage: $22.95/hr — down from $30.46/hr a year ago
- South-Central Idaho job postings: -22% YoY — vs +31% YoY in Boise metro
Key takeaways
Manufacturing wage data tells two different stories at once.
Production worker and assembler pay fell significantly to $31,738 even as electrician pay rose to $82,309 — advanced, skilled-trade manufacturing is pulling away from entry-level production work. This bifurcation is consistent with Premier Technology's nuclear-manufacturing expansion favoring credentialed trades over general assembly labor.
Employment growth has stalled despite low unemployment.
Pocatello's 1.0% year-over-year employment decline alongside a 3.8% unemployment rate indicates fewer people are both working and actively job-seeking; the market shows softening participation rather than the traditional signature of a tight labor market. That combination may reflect participation softening locally, a dynamic worth distinguishing from labor scarcity when evaluating site-selection or expansion pitches.
Logistics consolidation is a quiet signal.
Swire Coca-Cola's move to centralize distribution near Idaho Falls reflects a broader regional logistics realignment affecting facility geography across the corridor, with no indication of a Pocatello-specific downturn. CDL driver pay locally still climbed to $83,980, above the national median, suggesting transportation demand in the corridor remains resilient even as facility geography shifts.
South-Central Idaho is diverging sharply from Boise's momentum.
Southwestern Idaho posted 31% year-over-year job-posting growth (job ads, a signal of hiring demand; one ad often covers several openings) against a 22% decline in South-Central Idaho, the widest regional split in the state's labor data this year. Commerce leaders benchmarking Pocatello against statewide headlines should separate Boise-driven state averages from the metro's actual trajectory.
Median advertised pay by role — Pocatello, ID MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $24,718 | $29,120 | $33,040 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $25,464 | $31,356 | $32,240 | Significant increase | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $30,255 | $37,238 | $37,565 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $60,922 | $83,980 | $100,000 | Moderate increase | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $26,491 | $31,200 | $34,122 | Moderate increase | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $29,180 | $33,280 | $35,360 | Moderate decline | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $60,805 | $82,309 | $84,573 | Significant increase | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $30,688 | $31,738 | $36,171 | Significant decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $29,682 | $37,440 | $38,480 | Significant increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $26,286 | $31,564 | $31,720 | Significant increase | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $32,801 | $35,014 | $37,440 | Moderate decline | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $33,129 | $39,541 | $41,322 | Stable | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician * | $58,097 | $70,720 | $80,000 | Moderate increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $82,066 | $98,945 | $106,614 | Significant increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer * | $116,624 | $153,081 | $171,515 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $84,712 | $85,269 | $85,269 | Stable | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $59,528 | $61,422 | $63,688 | Significant decline | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $69,814 | $78,766 | $85,502 | Stable | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager * | $51,972 | $64,961 | $71,500 | Moderate increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $46,928 | $65,000 | $75,436 | Significant increase | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,709 | $77,612 | $82,055 | Significant increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $31,200 | $52,783 | $58,349 | Stable | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $59,970 | $84,219 | $94,843 | Stable | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $70,000 | $70,000 | $70,000 | No data | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $76,181 | $93,409 | $103,094 | Moderate decline | $98,302 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Industry snapshot
| Sector | Median advertised pay | Pay trend | Postings trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | $50,345 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $47,891 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $35,205 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $45,041 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Information | $55,856 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $49,920 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $69,108 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $69,129 | Significant increase | Moderate increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $26,812 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,907 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Pocatello MSA nonfarm employment ticked up 0.2% month-over-month in September even as year-over-year employment fell 1.0%, a divergence that points to a labor market treading water, with Bannock County unemployment at 3.8% running above both the state rate of 3.6% and holding steady against a declining labor force participation trend statewide. Opposing employer moves this month — Premier Technology's nuclear-manufacturing facility expansion (40-50 jobs) against Amy's Kitchen's 49-worker layoff and Swire Coca-Cola's consolidation of Pocatello distribution operations toward Idaho Falls — illustrate a metro absorbing sector-specific contraction in food manufacturing and logistics while gaining ground in advanced manufacturing tied to federal nuclear-security investment.
What it means
South-Central Idaho's 22% year-over-year decline in job postings (job ads, a signal of hiring demand; one ad often covers several openings) and a wage pullback from $30.46 to $22.95 average hourly, set against flat-to-negative local employment growth, signals a cooling in labor demand that commerce leaders should treat as a read on local business investment appetite. Divergent sector performance — advertised pay up significantly for electricians ($82,309), registered nurses ($98,945), and CDL drivers ($83,980), down significantly for manufacturing production workers ($31,738) and accountants ($61,422) — suggests capital is flowing toward skilled trades, healthcare, and logistics infrastructure while traditional manufacturing and back-office functions soften. Current conditions suggest economic development leaders track whether Premier Technology's nuclear-sector expansion represents the start of a diversification trend worth courting further federal and defense-adjacent investment on its own merits, independent of this single announcement.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Premier Technology's nuclear-facility ramp generates additional subcontractor or supplier activity in the Pocatello corridor over the next two quarters — a cluster effect would mark the first concrete diversification signal beyond a single-employer announcement.
Emerging pressure point: South-Central Idaho's average advertised wage has fallen over $7 year-over-year alongside a 22% posting decline; a continuation into Q1 2027 would indicate softening business investment locally, a structural trend distinct from seasonal noise.
Worth watching: Amy's Kitchen's 49-worker layoff is part of a stated national restructuring effort that extends beyond this single Pocatello facility; local economic development contacts should confirm whether the facility's remaining footprint is stable before drawing conclusions about food manufacturing in the metro.
Potential inflection point: Bannock County's unemployment rate sitting above both the state (3.6%) and South Central Idaho (3.5%) averages bears watching for a second consecutive month — a sustained gap would separate Pocatello from the regional narrative of broad-based Idaho tightness.
Sources
- Idaho Department of Labor — Pocatello MSA nonfarm jobs rose 0.2% MoM, fell 1.0% YoY
- Idaho Department of Labor — Bannock County unemployment at 3.8%, labor force 41,101
- Idaho State Journal — Premier Technology nuclear facility expansion, 40-50 jobs
- Idaho State Journal — Amy's Kitchen Pocatello layoff of 49 workers
- Idaho Department of Labor — South-Central Idaho postings down 22% YoY, wages $30.46 to $22.95
- Idaho Department of Labor — Swire Coca-Cola consolidating distribution near Idaho Falls
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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